Touring UVM: Environment and Sustainability

The following is an computer-generated summary of the video transcript.

I came to UVM because I was really passionate about the environment and I knew this would be a great place to study it. So I'm an environmental studies major in the College of Arts and Sciences. You can find that major, which is one of the biggest here UVM in three different colleges. Cows, which is the College of Agriculture Life Sciences, has called Russian Sciences and the Rubinstein School on the environment and natural Resources. I actually was just here a couple weeks ago, teaching a lab as a teacher's assistant for N. V. S. 001 intro to environmental studies in which I got to take a bunch of underclassmen around this forest and talk about the history of the landscape, um, and how people change the landscape in what the invisible factors in the invisible present art. At UVM, we have these spaces to not just learn in the classroom, but also outside the classroom on DDE. That was really important for me as I'm a real hands on learner. This is only one of about a dozen natural areas that UVM owns, and you can come here just kind of on your own time. As a student, I've utilized the space in many different classes. So a couple of weeks ago, I'm a teacher's assistant for intro to environmental studies, and I brought a bunch of students out here to learn about, um, how you can see FINA logical changes and also how changes in the landscape are perpetuated by human resource use. Eso This actually used to be farmland, but now it's new growth forest. I could actually see signs of that in different places, and that was really important to me coming to UVM because I'm a hands on learner and I love being in the classroom and learning about theory. I'm really fortunate I got to partner with the New Jersey State Parks to help them understand how New Jersey and perceive our national public spaces and how we can bring more cultural and racial diversity to park visitor ship. I'm from Stratford, Connecticut, and I'm currently studying wildlife and fisheries biology and the Rubinstein School for the Environment and Natural Resource is here at B M. Actually came into u B M already knowing I wanted to study while by biology definitely one of the unique few that knows what they want to study coming in college. All throughout high school, I got the opportunity to work at a local zoo on we did a lot of conservation initiatives, actually got to form close relationships with zookeepers and some of the animals that were part of their collection and having the opportunity to just work so closely with staff and really get to learn about so many environmental issues that endangered species are facing. All the wood paneling in this building was actually sustainably harvested from the get go research for us. Boulders here were collected from the original construction site for this building and opens and then placed here around to create this beautiful room that we're currently all of the plants here are not native to room on. What is really cool is there is no internal cooling that happens to maintain the constant temperature they need to survive. The window's actually have very sensitive sensors, which will open or close accordingly to make sure this room stays at a constant temperature. All incoming first year students into Rubinstein actually required to take a first year class title of natural history and human ecology, otherwise known as on our one. I take it in my time here at UVM, so far, so at our one, even though it's the whole room unseen first year class, that was around 100 and 60 of us my incoming year. The farmer and his wife took us out into the orchard, where we got thio, talk about his production, actually collect some apples from his orchard, and then Pan made us apple pie and gave us maple cream ease and let us go in with their donkey. I'm definitely going to remember that after my time here, you bm is finished. I love that that very first semester I was here, I was already able to get my hands dirty, get to actually experience what it means to get a career in the environmental field. I'm glad that all first year we were using students get that opportunity able to work with, was a fantastic experience and really made me wanted to vote the rest of my life to studying the environment and doing anything I can in the name of conservation. Rubinstein just seemed like the perfect place to accomplish that goal. Because as one of the smallest colleges in the University of Vermont, I really loved that I was able to get that close knit family feel in my home college, while also getting all the resource is of a larger of research based institution, that is, and the reason why I finally hit to come and study here at UVM was I came back after I got accepted for an in with Students Day and just going on another tour of campus, seeing all the students enthusiasm for the news perspective students. That very same day, I was actually able to meet with the head of the wildlife and fisheries biology department within the Reuben since school and seeing how he was answering all my questions and calming me down from all my fears of upcoming college, he just was prioritising all of my concerns, and I was thinking, Wow, I'm not even committed. I'm not even a student of your B m. I'm being treated so more like I didn't see a space for myself here on. Definitely, there is a space for me here, and I'm glad that decision. So right now we're in the Rubinstein Steward's office, and I personally am one of the Rubinstein stewards. So the stewards are a group of undergraduate students which are basically here to serve the undergraduate population of Rubinstein. Have you have any questions concerning our core curriculum organizing your schedule for next semester? If you're looking for an internship or career or you have one in mind and you want someone to review your resume or your cover letter and are just a little daunted by presenting that cover letter and resume to your professor, your academic advisor, our office is always open and you can come in and have one of our undergraduate students help you any way we can. We have weekly office hours for all of our stewards, and we love having drop ins, and we're basically just here to cater to our regency and population. I really love being able to have that leadership role and provide support for other students who are going through some of the same experiences I am. When it comes to academic advising, first year Rubinstein students are given a first year advisor on. They're able to get a really close relationship with that advisor through one of our core classes on our six race and culture where you're meeting once a week. Then you're branching out from that big lecture class to actually meet in a small course with your academic advisor as the professor and around 20 or so other students who also have the same academic advisor for the year. So it's a great way to really form personal relationships with those other first year Rubinstein students and your academic advisor moving forward. For example, since I'm a wildlife and fisheries biology major, my advisor is actually the head of our department, and that's been really great for me because he knows so much more about my major and so much more about careers in the wildlife sector. Then I also have another adviser who is in the dean's office in Rubinstein, tied to a grant that actually got through the college.